The Sole of Our Nation

Why I love living in the land of Israel.

This past Rosh Hashanah eve, my teenage son realized that he needed a new pair of shoes to wear to synagogue. As if I didn't have enough to do.

"Not today," I said. "I don't have time. Candle lighting is in six hours."

My son held his shoes up in the air. They had no soles.

"Free foot air conditioning?" he said.

I sighed. Then I gave him our credit card and my cell phone.

"Go ahead. Please buy something reasonable." I thought of the latest Israeli shoe styles for boys his age pointed at the ends like arrows. "Nothing that could gouge anybody's eyes out, okay?"

He nodded. I trusted him. We both felt good.

Two hours later, I watched my son coming down the stairs to our apartment through my kitchen window. I waited for him to come inside, but he didn't. I walked out the front door and saw him slouched against the wall, knees curled to his chest, tears damp on his white cotton shirt. I crouched down beside him.

"What happened?"

"I don't want to say," he mumbled.

I coaxed him until the story came out. Turns out somewhere between picking up my husband's glasses at the optician, and the shoe store, his wallet had disappeared, along with our credit card.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "Are you mad?"

"No," I said. "I'm not mad. I'm disappointed that I lost my credit card. But why would I be mad? Mad is for inappropriate behaviors. Mad is for disrespectful behaviors. Mad isn't for mistakes."

He calmed down. Then he eked out a smile.

"So you want to see my shoes?"

I cocked my head to the side. "Your shoes?"

"Yeah." He began fumbling with a salmon colored box, the tissue paper crinkling between his fingers. "I had already picked out just the pair I wanted and I was about to pay. That's when I realized my wallet was gone."

He pulled the shoes out of the paper. Black. Pointy, but not in a weapon sort of way. A perfect melding of fashionable with subdued. If only they weren't stolen contraband.

"So there was a man in the store and he offered to buy me the shoes since I didn't have any money," my son said. "He said we should pay him back whenever we get around to it. I tried calling you but the phone was off the hook."

He handed me back my cell phone. "I was rushed so I didn't catch his name. I just filed his number under 'G'. "

I stared at him, my jaw hanging open. "He paid for your shoes?"

He shrugged. "I know. Really nice of him."

I went inside, still dumbfounded, and then shared the story with my husband, who promptly called up Mr. G.

"I don't have any cash on me right now to pay you back…" my husband said.

"Don't worry about it," Mr. G said. "Have a good Yom Tov. Your son looked so disappointed I couldn't let him leave the store without shoes for the holiday."

Well of course not. I know how irresistible my son is but still…

"Okay," my husband said. "We'll have to figure this out since I have to cancel my credit card which means my ATM isn't going to work either…"

Mr. G's gasp was audible through the telephone. "No, no, no," he said. "Don't cancel your credit card! It's impossible that the wallet was stolen! It's right before Rosh Hashanah, the day of judgment. There's no way that anyone took it."

Well, Mr. G's rosy view of Israelis was certainly refreshing. With a healthy blend of optimism and cynicism we froze the credit card temporarily instead of canceling it.

Rosh Hashanah was meaningful and inspirational, especially for my son who spent many long hours in prayer, decked out in brand new shoes without wind flaps. We pushed our little debt to Mr. G to the back of our minds until after the holiday.

After Rosh Hashanah my husband was anxious to rid himself of his debt before Yom Kippur. He wanted all the cards stacked in his favor before God's final judgment. He called up Mr. G.

"Did you find the wallet?" Mr. G. asked.

"Nope."

"Soon," said Mr. G. "You'll see."

My husband offered to take a bus over to Mr. G's house to return the money but he wouldn't hear of inconveniencing my husband that much.

"I have a car. I'll come to you and pick it up."

Wasn't that convenient! And so it was. We paid Mr. G. whose name we still hadn't chanced upon to catch.

And the wallet was still at bay.

The next morning I was getting ready to go to my exercise class when the phone rang. A woman speaking broken Hebrew with a faint Russian accent spoke on the other end. But I managed to piece together what she was saying well enough.

"Did you lose a wallet?"

"Yes!"

The woman was ecstatic. She explained how she had tried to hunt down our number in the regular telephone directory but that our name was misspelled. And she'd been so disappointed not to inform us before the holiday as we'd have to spend three days not knowing where our wallet was. Her daughter had found it on the street on the eve of Rosh Hashana.

She did not pat herself on the back for doing the right thing, she only lamented that she hadn't done it sooner.

And would you believe that my exercise studio is directly across the street from where this woman lives?

It is said that God's presence resides in a more concentrated fashion in the land of Israel. But it is not only in the stones, in the brick and mortar, but in the flesh and blood too – in the hearts and the souls of the people that live in this extraordinary country – in the land and in the nation of Israel.

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About the Author

Yael Mermelstein is an award winning author whose stories are studied for the Israeli English matriculation exams and featured in national textbooks. Her book, Izzy the Whiz and Passover McClean was distributed across the U.S. by the PJ Library. She publishes prolifically, most frequently in Binah Magazine. Yael lives in Israel with her family and her pet computer.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 12

(12)
Anonymous,
March 5, 2013 11:03 PM

the mac machine ate my card on friday afternoon in Jerusalem and two people online offered to lend me $.

(11)
b segal,
November 11, 2011 1:15 AM

bksegal@nyc.rr.com

this may have been what life was like a century ago in the us- maybe.
thank you yael, for this true story abut life in Israel which brings out the best in our spiritual selves, not necessarily our "religious" selves.

(10)
Ivy,
November 8, 2011 1:40 PM

found a wallet in Jerusalem

This past May, I was visiting my daughter, her husband, and my new grandson in Israel. We took a day trip to Jerusalem. While walking through the old city, we found a wallet. We looked through it and when we left, we called the phone number inside. It belonged to a woman from a kibbutz who was visiting Jerusalem that day. We arranged to meet her at a location..she was not far. We waited in our car, and about 20 minutes later she and her husband arrived. It was like old friends week. She was so appreciative, and they offered a reward, but my son in law of course declined. It was such a nice way to end my visit in Jerusalem.

(9)
Debby,
November 3, 2011 9:07 PM

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this story

Really wonderful story of faith and surprise. We must learn to expect more small miracles. Blessings, Debby

(8)
Cindy,
November 3, 2011 8:30 PM

Great story, loved to read. One more reason I love Israel and it's people

(7)
Zev,
November 3, 2011 3:34 AM

Same thing happened to me

Would have been a nice fairy-tale but the same thing happened to me in Israel.

(6)
Grandma Carol,
November 1, 2011 11:47 PM

Wonderful story!

I found this to be such an uplifting story. I do believe that trusting in G_D works wonders when we can just sit still and show our patience. 'All in G_D's good time', as I say. Though I 'm not Jewish, some of my family is and so is my daughter's best friend as well as a man I met in 1964 working at the NY World's Fair. We lost touch after we both returned home and in 2005 I 'googled' his name and found him, though the way I found him was what I consider a miracle. I'm very interested in the Jewish beliefs and thoughts.

(5)
Anonymous,
October 31, 2011 9:57 PM

only in Israel

this is a .beautiful story about 2 special people, ( Mr. G. & the lady )whose daughter found the wallet. You are right, Yael G-d's presence does reside in a more concentrated fashion in Eretz Yisrael.

(4)
Chava,
October 31, 2011 10:35 AM

Wow

I can't get over mr g. That is really something . I think my faith in mankind has been restored . Thanks yael

(3)
Michael,
October 31, 2011 3:20 AM

So Nice.

The vast majority of Jews are honest and never give a thought to cheat any person. Caring Jews blessed my life so-so many times. The caring Jews of the world do not care what religion or faith a person is. They just follow G-d' law.

(2)
Yael Zoldan,
October 30, 2011 6:52 PM

Mi K'amcha Yisrael! -- Who is like you Israel!

Yael, what a beautiful story! Thank you so much for sharing it. May the honesy and inherent goodness of our nation finds favor in His eyes speedily in our days!

(1)
Sharon,
October 30, 2011 8:00 AM

nice story

I, also residing in Israel, cancelled my credit card twice only later to have it returned and unused. Most people are honest so chances are whoever finds it will return it, but I just couldn't take the chance of being wiped out. Actually, the credit card companies have insurance and since you could easily prove that you were not the one to make the purchases, you wouldn't be charged, but all that aside, I'd be troubled waiting three days to know whether all was okay.